At last, the much delayed flick of Ramcharan Teja has released on the eve of Festival! In general, there is a sentiment in the Telugu Film Industry with reference to Sankranthi and an invisible battle between the Stars will take place at the Box-office, with their latest offerings. The very popular KODI PANDAALU spirit will also be extended to the films this season and all the fans of the Heroes will eagerly wait to see the stamina of their respective Heroes, with bated breath! This competition is there in Tollywood, since Chiranjeevi- Balakrishna generation and now this time, it is between Mahesh Babu and Ramcharan Teja. Mahesh came up with 1 NENOKKADINE 2 days earlier and now Ramcharan with YEVADU!
The Pre-release Hype:
YEVADU has created a lot of buzz prior to its release since September 2013, actually when the film is expected to release. The film got the attention due to many specialties like the first time pairing of Ramcharan- Allu Arjun, Ramcharan with Dil Raju, Ramcharan with Shruthi Haasan and Sai Kumar in the character of a villain in full-length. In addition to it, the movie drew the attention of the audience, as it is one of the high-budget films with ensemble cast etc.
Further, it is rumored that, the film got re-shoots and changes in the story, etc, which ultimately resulted in its unusual delay. However, Ramcharan came up with this YEVADU after the utter-flop of THUFAAN. It is learnt that, the hero had pinned lots of hopes on this movie to wipe-out the mark of the failure of his previous film. The movie had released in more than 1600 theatres across the globe with great hype and high hoopla!
The Story:
Sathya (Allu Arjun) is an upright young lad, who falls in love with Deepthi (Kajal). The Don of Vizag (Rahul Dev) too falls for Deepthi and tries to capture her against her will. Deepthi- Sathya decides to shift to Hyderabad and while on their journey, the goons of come and attacks them. Sathya survives and joins to hospital, where he undergoes face-lift through cosmetic surgery and get the face of Ram (Ramcharan)! Then, what did Sathya with the face of Ram had done? Whether he had succeeded in taking revenge against the goons? Why the Henchmen of Dharma (Sai Kumar) tried to kill Ram? What is his relation with Doctor Shailaja (Jayasudha) and the people of a Basthi in Hyderabad? Is the rest of the story!
The Technicalities:
The idea of changing the face of the protagonist is very fresh and novel to Tollywood. The crux of the story lies here and entire film has to be carried on this line. It is established well. But the continuing the next path is somewhere missed. The Screenplay and Direction was done by Vamshi and he led these departments with all the care. First –half of the cinema is focused on the issues related to the revenge of Sathya in the backdrop of Vizag. While the second-half concentrates on the retaliation of Charan in the backdrop of Hyderabad. The action sequences and screenplay is crisp and sharp. But the story and the line seems as two different stories with weak connection to each other.
Cinematography is very good, which captured the moods and emotions of the scenes perfectly. Devisri Prasad’s music is better in RR than the songs. Only one song, Nee Jathaga nenundaali, is catchy while the others are just passable. Editing should have more sharp in chopping certain scenes, while usage of DI is felt in every frame. Production values are very rich and all the grandeur has been visualized on the screen.
The Performances:
Though the film doesn’t say anything about dual-role, the portrayal of Ramcharan character seems to be a double-entendre as Ram and Charan. Ramcharan is good enough in dialogues, dance moves and in action episodes. Shruthi Haasan is charming and Amy Jackson is bubbly. Allu Arjun- Kajal duo played the guest role. But impresses a lot and their presence will be felt till the last.
Kota, Rahul Dev, Ajay and Subbaraju as the baddies played their part, while Sai Kumar as the main villain had come out with accolades in new avatar. Jayasudha, as usual done the role well. Comedy by Brahmanandam is very routine.
The Sum-up:
The movie might have inspired from the Hollywood FACE-OFF of John Travolta & Nicholas Cage, but have the resemblance with Malayalam film, PUDHU MUKHAM of Suresh Nair & Revathi. The movie is totally based on the stardom of Ramcharan and all the story, action, drama revolves around him alone, even in the not-so-necessary scenes also. The film is an action-revenge drama, which left the comedy and entertainment. As usual in a masala film, YEVADU too had many scenes, which are irrational, in-convincing and with missing links, which tests the patience of the audience. The film lacks the pace and speed to be there in a powerful action flick.
All in all, YEVADU will satisfy the urges of fans and action film lovers alone. In other words, this Sankranthi offering from Mega camp, will get the claps from the betters of KODI PANDAALU. But get a thumbs-down from the people who love MUGGULU!
by Mamidi Harikrishna (harikrishnam at ragalahari.in)
